Late at night.
Inside the outpost, lights blazed brightly.
"Tsk... This is just ridiculous..."
Wise slumped into a nearby chair, sighing before murmuring, "Belle, is the recording device on Eous completely useless too?"
He glanced toward Belle, who was still tinkering with the equipment, doubt flickering in his eyes as he asked with a hint of hope.
"No. Even the camera system reinforced by Fairy's Defense enhancement stopped working completely. Based on the time Ellen and the others mentioned, and when the device's data began recording normally again, it looks like the cameras only recovered right after we exited the hollow."
A trace of helplessness crossed Belle's face. The situation was utterly baffling.
Just like before with Wise, the two of them had entered the hollow and witnessed the same strange scene he had seen—only to suddenly lose consciousness after an overwhelming wave of vertigo.
When they woke, they had already been expelled from the hollow.
According to the outpost's monitoring data, the moment they blacked out, all visual feeds from their equipment turned to garbled static, as if being jammed.
However, Fairy's analysis showed that neither the outpost systems nor the devices carried by their Bangboo had suffered any kind of electronic interference.
This hollow, originating from Zane, was something entirely different. Let alone Wise and Belle—no one in all of New Eridu seemed to understand it.
Even from the fragments of memory she still retained, Belle could tell the hollow was unlike any normal one. It felt unreal—almost dreamlike.
Even Shin knew only fragments. She had merely told them to send their Bangboo into the hollow—but not why, or to what end. That part was up to them to figure out.
"Come to think of it," Belle said quietly, "why did we instinctively assume we lost a memory segment, instead of just fainting and remembering nothing?"
Wise froze for a moment, realization dawning, before lapsing into silence.
Yeah... why did we think that?
"Never mind," he muttered after a while. "Whether we figure it out or not doesn't really matter. We might not understand much, but if Zane chose this path, he must have his reasons."
He sounded resigned, but Belle didn't agree.
Seeing her shake her head, Wise chuckled softly. "What's this? Haven't you always trusted Zane the most? And now you're worried about him?"
"Oh, it's not that I don't trust him," Belle replied. "It's just... it shouldn't all fall on his shoulders."
"There are things he doesn't know, things he can't do... He gets tired, he feels happy, he feels sad..."
Belle's tone softened as she met her brother's gaze. "Zane was just like us in the beginning—an ordinary person."
Her words made Wise pause. After a moment, he let out a small sigh, half helpless, half amused.
"You, huh... You always rush in wanting to help, and every time you end up a mess, unable to actually help Zane at all. I've learned to accept it, but you... you still won't give up until you run headfirst into a wall."
As he spoke, Wise stood and walked over to the equipment.
"But hey, that's just how we Phaethons are, right?" He smiled faintly. "You've actually helped me recover a bit of confidence."
He looked at the now-powered-down console, then turned back toward Belle.
"Since Fairy's analysis ruled out any electronic interference, the cause must lie within the hollow itself."
Belle leaned against the desk, quietly watching him, her brow slightly furrowed.
Of course she knew that much. The real problem was—they knew nothing about this hollow.
Seeing the expression on his sister's face—one that practically screamed idiot—Wise's expression darkened slightly. He quickly added,
"You haven't forgotten, have you? Those hollows are guarded inside the restricted zones. Those people aren't just sitting around all day doing nothing."
"They've been losing manpower, resources, and time—so they must have gathered intel. The next two hollows won't be tackled until tomorrow. We can use the gap to hit them once. Maybe we'll dig up something useful."
A mischievous grin tugged at Wise's lips, and Belle's eyes lit up beside him.
"Makes sense... Though it's risky. Still, we've got plenty of people—and Shin. Let's plan it out."
The two exchanged a glance and nodded in perfect sync.
Then, they began plotting their grand scheme...
...
Hollow Zero — Core Sector
Returning here, Hoshimi Miyabi couldn't help but feel a faint sense of déjà vu.
She remembered the last time she had been here—when Zane had rescued them all.
But this time, she was alone.